Hundreds of jobs are set to be created in Uttoxeter after JCB announced plans hailed as "wonderful" news for the area with a new £50 million factory in the town.

JCB's new 350,000 sq ft cab-making facility off the A50, near its existing Heavy Products site, will create more than 200 new jobs by 2022.

The high-tech plant will have the capacity to manufacture 100,000 cabs a year - doubling the firm's existing production levels.

Among the technology employed at the new site will be a computer-controlled production line, fully-automated painting facility and robotic welding unit.

It is scheduled to open next summer.

JCB chief executive officer Graeme Macdonald said: "This new factory will be the most advanced and productive cab facility in the world and will bring even greater levels of efficiency to the business.

An aerial view of the site of a new £50 million JCB cab systems factory in Uttoxeter. (Image: Burton Mail)

"The investment is one of the biggest in the company’s history and underlines our commitment to manufacturing in Britain and in our home county of Staffordshire."

Burton and Uttoxeter MP Andrew Griffiths, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: "This is fantastic news for Uttoxeter, for Staffordshire and also the wider Midlands' economy.

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"This investment represents a massive boost for the area and underlines what a great place Staffordshire is to do business.

"It’s wonderful to see JCB continuing to invest in the county and in British manufacturing – something that can only attract even more inward investment."

JCB Chief Executive Officer Graeme Macdonald and JCB Chief Operating Officer Mark Turner at the site of the new £50 million JCB Cab Systems plant in Uttoxeter. (Image: Burton Mail)

JCB Cab Systems currently employs more than 400 people at its existing site in Rugeley.

The division's general manager, David Carver, said: "While new jobs will be created, moving to the new factory will enable us to double capacity without doubling the workforce thanks to high levels of automation.

"The whole plant is being designed to improve productivity, reduce waste and provide unprecedented quality levels."